Saturday, December 29 2018 @ 09:28 AM EST

Contributed by: Thomas

Yesterday, the Blue Jays announced the signing of Matt Shoemaker on a one-year contract for $3.5 million, plus incentives. Shoemaker is controllable through 2020, if the Blue Jays wish to retain him. It appears as if he will fit into the fourth spot in the rotation behind Stroman, Sanchez and Borucki, which currently leaves Reid-Foley and Pannone as the leading contenders for the fifth spot.

Although he has suffered from injuries for most of the past two years, in 2016, he made 27 starts and struck out 8.0 batters per 9 innings over 160 innings. He posted a 3.88 ERA and 3.5 WAR.

For a team clearly not making a genuine attempt to contend in 2019, I think itís a good addition at a reasonable price. If Shoemaker is hurt or performs poorly, there is no long-term salary commitment and, if he does well, the Jays can try to flip him or retain him for 2020.